Annealing Lapua brass

[BrentM]

I think it would depend on how from the hot point of the blue flame I am? I am staying about 1 tp 1.5 inches from it to heat up the brass a little slower and consistently than what I say at the point of the flame. I too am using a cordless. I have snap on micro that is perfect for this.

I made up a little jig to keep everything aligned and consistent and will improve it tonight so it is better.

 

[Greyfox]

My Bench Source which uses a dual torch setup runs about 4.5 seconds with the two flame points set up about 1.5" on each side of the neck area, for 6.5x284. The 600 Templac goes clear just below the shoulder, and the case has the appearance of new Lupua, or just a shade lighter in coloration. The duration of the heat time varies with case size. 338's - 5.5 seconds, 260's- 4 seconds, 223's- 3seconds.

 

[BrentM]

I am going to look into one of those in the future. They look super clean.

Maybe I should just send you my brass and some cash. : )

 

[Greyfox]

It's hard to justify one unless you do a lot of reloading. I shoot a few different calibers in shooting competitions in the off season. Some years I'm well over 1000 rounds. That combined with the limited supply of brass and rising costs, as a result of King Obama's policies pushed me into buying one. With set up time, it takes about 15-20 minutes to do about 100 cases.

 

[SidecarFlip]

As usual and my cautious nature, I'm a bit skeptical with any case annealing that involves the human factor and repetitive timing which is why I don't do the drill/torch method or the torch/tip over in a pie pan of water method because...

One, there is a fine line between under and over annealed. If it's under annealed no biggie, the case necks just crack at some point or your neck tension goes to hell just as if you never annealed them at all but...

If you over anneal and the necks get too soft or if you heat the body and soften it, you have big issues real fast like blowing up the action, or worse...

Which is why I got a Bench Source because the heating time is precisely controlled (digitally), case after case for as many cases as you aneel at one sitting and the base stays cold and hard.

There are at least 3 other mechanized annealers on the market but the Bench Source is the most universal so thats what I have.

 

[Pdvdh]

Any activity can be dangerous to the uninformed. Reloading of ammunition included.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Very true. Any activity can be dangerous if abused. Even getting the mail across the road.

 

[valleyloader]

I just annealed 100 pieces of 308 lapua brass that was fresh out of the tumbler, but mine definitely had a color change. I also use the torch it and time it method, however I am looking at getting a machine for consistency as well as safety. To the best of my knowledge the real concern when annealing is to be careful not to soften the body, when I anneal I will keep it in the heat just long enough to let the color change go about 1/4" below the shoulder which is less than the factory lapua. But I have been known to error on the side of caution.

Any comments or concerns are welcome I know there are some on here with much more experience and knowledge than I.

 

[jsthntn247]

I use the torch and drill method to anneal after every firing and have seen accuracy/consistency greatly increase in my target shooting. A friend has a bench source annealer and I'm going to do a test at the next match with half done by hand and half with a bench source and see if I can tell the difference. I don't think there will be. About color, I have noticed that different brands of brass and different prep done to the brass creates different colors when annealed.

 

[tbrice23]

I annealed lapua 6br brass today. It took 7 seconds as compared to Winchester 7mm rem mag and 300 win mag which takes 5 sec.

Much smaller case yet more heat. I've read about zinc content being different in lapua and also I'm positive case walls are thicker.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Did you mearure them?